Jump in Time
by Hanyuchick
Summary: Dawn jumps instead of Buffy. Dawn lands in 1875. Guess who she runs into? Who else but William.
1. The Jump

Disclaimer: Joss owns the characters. I'm just borrowing them.

The first scene is at the tower when Glory attacked.

Feedback: Tell me if I'm doing it right. I don't really care what you write as long as you write something.

Dawn was scared, very scared. Her sister was too far away, battling the minions. Dawn was bound and covered in her own blood. Spike just got through the line. Her teeth were chattering. She'd lost so much blood; her body temperature was dropping alarmingly fast. Dawn felt strong arms wrap around her and gentle hands cut her free of the bonds.

"It'll be alright, Niblet. Old Spike's here to make it all better."

Spike felt like he was dieing, there was far too much blood. He knew his Niblet wouldn't make it. It was times like these he hated being a vampire. He wished there wasn't a portal, the situation was too similar to when he'd lost his family. Dawn's voice broke him out of his trance.

"Spike, I'm cold. Hold me, please." She was begging him. He teeth were chattering and they both knew his body wouldn't give any warmth. Still he held her for as long as he could.

"I have to jump." Dawn turned to face him.

"No, bit. Can't lose you too." He held her tight. Spike couldn't lose her. He loved her with his entire being. If he lost her, he was damn sure he'd fall into the dark.

"I have to. It's the only way."

"No." He would not let her go.

"Please, William. I couldn't stand to have the world end and you be in hell while I'm off floating in nothingness. This way I might get back. Buffy's died twice. I could come back like she did." She had a point there, but what really convinced him was that she'd said his name. Not like she was berating him either, but lovingly. That's what got him to stand up with her in his arms. He was carrying her bridal style.

"Well, if you're going you're not going alone." Spike started walking to the edge of the tower.

"What are you talking about?" Dawn looked up at him confused.

"You won't be alone if I have anything to do about it. If you end up floating in nothingness, I'll be with you."

He meant it. They both looked back at Buffy who was just now coming up to the top of the tower where they were. Buffy looked at them and she knew that Spike and Dawn were going to jump. They were going to save the world together. Buffy almost resented her sister for that. Almost. Dawn didn't have to kill her soul mate in order to save the world. She didn't have to go through that hell. Oh, yes Buffy knew that Dawn was in love with Spike. She knew that the feeling was mutual. Even if they didn't know, she did. As they jumped Buffy saw Spike kiss Dawn and she saw how that made falling into hell seem like she was being lifted into heaven for Dawn. As they were falling Buffy saw that Dawn disappeared and Spike panicked and his fingers closed in the space where Dawn was. He fell to the ground with tears on his face. If Angel hadn't felt his pain through the Sire Childe link and ordered him to go to his crypt; Spike would have gladly welcomed the sun.

If it sucks deal with it. Please review and check out my other stuff. My first btvs fic so please be nice.


	2. The Landing

Disclaimer: Go ahead and sue me. All you'll get is some lint.

Thank you so much for the reviews. You make me feel so happy. To everyone who answered my question about William's last name here's a cookie. I have another question. What's the first name of Spike's Mum. When he was human. I've decided to put Dawn in 1875 instead of 1880 to avoid destroying the timeline.

Dawn woke up in a large field. A woman came running over to her, asking if she was all right. Dawn looked down. She was shivering, bleeding, in a place that was very unfamiliar to her, and her William was nowhere in sight. No, she wasn't all right. Dawn didn't answer the question.

"Mum, is she alright? I ran for a doctor. He should be at our house in an hour." A very familiar British accent rang out. Dawn looked up and gasped. It was her William, only much younger and very human. He looked to be in his early twenties.

"She's awake but she isn't answering. Do you think her voice is injured?" The woman looked up at him. She was probably in her mid forties, her auburn hair starting to come loose from her bun and swaying in the afternoon breeze.

"Miss, I'm William Pratt. Do you think you can speak?" His voice was soft, gentle. The way he was only when he was with her.

"William." Dawn whispered his name; her love had stayed with her. He was right, she was not alone. He was with her. William picked her up bridal style.

"I'll carry her, Mum. We'd better hurry and get her in warm clothes."

"Good boy, I've raised you well." They went to a small but very cozy house on the outskirts of the better side of town. Dawn had fallen asleep in William's arms.

William POV

This young lady seems to be trouble. I carried her to our house and put her in Marie's old room. I guess it's lucky my younger sister had already gotten married or we'd have nowhere to put this beautiful young lady. My thoughts are running ram pit. I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to see legs, very long, very female legs. I think I'll write some poetry that usually settles my thoughts.

"William." I stopped in the middle of pulling out my pen to write.

"William." My throat goes dry. It's that young lady that we brought in to help. She's calling my name.

"William." I start to get up when I hear the doctor telling Mum that the lady only has shallow cuts over her body. That she'd probably fought off whoever had attempted to take advantage of her. I hurried to her room and peeked in. She was in the throes of a dream that was making her very upset. I cautiously walk up to her and gently shake her shoulder.

"Miss?" Her hand shot up and grabbed my arm. She wore a puzzled look on her face before she slowly woke up. She didn't open her eyes though.

"Warm. Is that you Xander? Is everything okay now?" She opened her eyes. She threw me across the room with the one hand she had on my arm.

"What's going on? Where am I? Where's the Scoobies? Why is your arm bent like that?" The young lady was clearly hysterical, but waking up in a strange place after being attacked must be disconcerting. She was sitting up in the bed, still wearing her clothes that seemed more like rags and revealed more than was proper. My arm's was hurting bad, really bad. Bloody hell, she's getting up and the ripped clothing revealed more than it concealed. My eyes are glued to her curves as I gulp trying to gain control over myself. I'm paralyzed by the fact that she's strong enough to throw me across the room with one hand.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I hurt everyone around me. Everyone who tries to help me." She walked over to me and gently slid my bones back into place. I was stunned by the hopelessness in her voice and her gentleness towards me. Almost as if I were something very important to her. Then again she had been calling my name in her sleep. And the way she'd been nuzzling into my chest while I was carrying her. Well, let's just say it'd put certain ideas into my head.

Dawn POV

I hurt him. How could I hurt my William? Wait a minute, I'm staring to sound like Drusilla. I need some water and some food stat. I looked down at myself. A bath and some clothes would be nice too. Wait a second, this is the Victorian era and I'm wearing rags. No wonder he's staring at me. I ran back into the bed as quickly as I could and pulled the blankets up to cover my body. He's still sitting there cradling his arm looking at me as if I'm the strangest thing he'd ever seen. Then his mom and the doctor come running in cause they heard the crash. I'm just sitting here looking at my William who's looking at me. I think his mom knows what's going on as she comes over to me with a robe. She ushered the two men out of the room and lead me to a bathtub.

"Thanks for helping me. My name's Dawn."

"What would your last name be?" I had to think quickly, I can't give my real name. That would just cause a paradox thing. My head hurts. What would Giles do? That's it, Giles!

"My last name is Giles."

"Lovely name Dawn Giles."

"Thank you."

"Come on dear let's get you cleaned up."


	3. Scoobies and Watchers

Disclaimer: Joss owns all characters.

I would like to thank all the reviewers. You are my inspiration and you make me feel so loved. Sorry to disappoint everyone who was looking for more Dawn William lovey doveyness, but I had to get back to Buffy for the sake of the story. Can't really compromise the script just so William feels all loved. I still don't know how old he is, people help me out! So, on with the show.

Buffy lay at the bottom of the tower sobbing. The Scoobies, who were all feeling a similar pain, surrounded her. They'd all lost a daughter, a friend, and a little sister. For Spike though it was like losing Dawn and Aurora all over again. Damn portals and fate for constantly screwing him over. He was currently pouting in his crypt, sitting in wide eyed wonder at how much his crypt smelled like his Niblet. The entire place was drowned in her scent. Angel was on his way into Sunnydale to comfort his childe, who was rapidly falling into the dark. Giles helped Buffy up and herded everyone back to the Summer's house. Everyone was in a stupor. No one could speak, Dawn had been pure and innocent. They didn't even have a body to bury. She'd just disappeared.

Back in 1875

The watchers council sat in a semi circle trying to figure out what to do. A young woman had appeared in London claiming to be Dawn Giles. Daniel Giles, who was the head watcher, had only one child to speak of. His child was ten year-old Thomas Giles. He'd been widowed the past five years, he had been a fool and had actually married a Slayer. They had heard from a doctor that the young woman had woken up in a hysterical state and had actually broken the arm of the young man who had rescued her. She threw him clear across the room.

"She could be a Slayer. Hope was dead for a few seconds."

"I'm not sure if a few seconds is long enough to call another Slayer."

"Well, it certainly explains her strength and the use of your last name, Giles."

"Whether she's a Slayer or not, an action must be taken. I'll take her under my wing until we can tell what's going on. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

Sorry if I jumped around a lot in this chapter and sorry about it being so short. I just had to close a few plot holes and do some foreshadowing. Also I had to report on what the Scooby Gang were doing. The story would just be messed up if I didn't. I can't really write another chapter until I know how old William is at this point. Some one please tell me soon. Then I can update. Please read and review.


	4. Fainting and Questions

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Seriously I don't even have posters.

I love getting reviews; they make me want to write. So, keep those reviews rolling. I need ideas as to when in the timeline do I reinsert Dawn. When Spike gets his soul back, after he becomes recorporal on Angel, or do you want her to pop up during the Immortal episode. Also I will have no Spuffy in this story. I will be doing alternating chapters between Dawn and William and everyone else.

Feedback: Hello, Tonya. My name is Tori and I'm a feedbackaholic also. If this offends you, let me know, I'll stop doing it. Also, I'm not changing the mistake about how many times Buffy died. So deal with it and comment about something else.

Dawn POV

I looked down at myself. Sure, I look gorgeous, but that doesn't do me any good if I can't breathe. Damn corsets, torture devices all. That bath sure helped me though. I feel a lot better. Now to get me some food, I'm really hungry. Mrs. Pratt is showing me into the sitting room where William is waiting. Wait; is it a sitting room or a parlor? Oh my gosh, butterflies in stomach, must calm down. There he is just sitting there writing something with his arm bandaged and splinted. I broke his arm. Oh, no. He's going to hate me. He's going to hate me.

William POV

Dawn just walked into the room. She was breathtakingly beautiful. How could he even think about writing poetry for Cecily when he had a beauty such as this in his own home? No, how dare he even think about another woman like that before thinking of his princess. Although seeing Dawn in proper clothes did make him want to forget all about Cecily for a while. His thinking was interrupted when this seemingly goddess spoke.

"What are you writing? Is that poetry? I like poetry."

Dawn POV

I kept asking him questions because he squirms. Only about his poetry and it's so cute! . Some things never change. His glasses are hiding his eyes, which annoys me. He's got a bad haircut but I could fix that easily. It's weird seeing him with dark curls. His brown suit's still disgusting but he just looks so cute when he squirms. I smile at him. I know the Spike version of William really well but I don't know this William like that. Like all I have to do is look at him and he'll know exactly what I mean to say. Then again there was a huge age difference. This William is only a couple of years older than me, I think. So this relationship might work a lot better than my relationship with his future self. What with the sun being bad for vampires and all, most of our bonding took place when he was babysitting me. And a good part of those memories are fake; just shoved into my head. My eyes have probably glazed over and I feel like crying now. Stupid teenage hormones!

William POV

She likes poetry! Certainly not my own, I'm a horrible poet. She smiled at me. Why do I feel like I have butterflies in my stomach? Dawn seems to be lost in thought. I turn back to my poetry until I hear a whimper come from her. Her eyes seem to be glazed over and were brimming with tears. She isn't going to cry is she? I hate it when women cry. I put a hand on her arm and ask her if she's all right. She looks at me with those tears just brimming and she nods.

"Not now, but I will be." I have no idea what she meant by that. Oh, the attack. I really need to keep my mind on track. Oh, my. That rhymed.

"Mr. Giles please do come in. My son and your niece are in the sitting room."

"Ah, yes. How did his arm get broken again? Was he defending her?"

Mum came in with a middle-aged man in tow. His hair was starting to gray and he looked as if his work stressed him a great deal. A ten-year old boy who seemed to resemble this man a great deal followed him. Dawn looked up at the man as I retracted my hand from her arm.

Dawn POV

Hey, this guy looks like Giles. Maybe he's a genetic throwback. Mrs. Pratt mentioned me being his niece so I should call him Uncle until I figure out just what is going on. It's weird but William keeps reminding me of Wesley being stuck in the same room with Faith. If it weren't for the whole torture thing I would've just locked them in the closet they were so obviously attracted to each other. Never mind the Slayer-Watcher relationship. I need an aspirin, my head hurts like hell. What's with all these memories popping into my head? It hurts. Now I know why Cordelia is always whining about visions. They hurt like hell. I'm holding my head and everyone is staring at me. Oh, shit. I forgot this century is not as laidback as my own.

"I have a headache." I say meekly and give a grim smile.

Okay, now all I have to do is remember what Spike said proper young ladies did in his time. Oh great, I can't remember anything. My head won't stop pounding. It feels like someone has hit it with a sledgehammer. Unfortunately, I do know what that feels like. Damn, why did Buff and Angel have to have sex on her birthday? Didn't they know what would happen with the happiness clause? No, they didn't and Elizabeth Summers had decided that Dawn should forgive the bastard for torturing her for a week. My mind's jumping around so much. When was I in the Middle East? Why do I remember seeing a volcanic planet? Why is the room spinning? Why is everything going dark? I feel like I'm falling.

William POV

Dawn was gripping her head as if she were in tremendous pain. She gave a grim smile and said she had a headache. A moment later she was falling towards the floor. Even with a broken arm, I was the one who caught her. It really is strange how light she is. She seems to have fainted. There's the nuzzling again. She really has no idea what this does to me, does she? The man, Mr. Giles, said he'd carry her back to the room she was staying in until they could get the doctor. I growled at him and carried him back myself. I can't believe I actually growled at him.

Giles POV

She fainted. Perhaps the Powers That Be have made her a messenger. Then again when I offered to carry her to her room that young man growled at me. He carried her himself, even with a broken arm. She may be a half demon. Most PTB messengers are after all. Perhaps half succubus, she is very pretty and young Mr. Pratt seems to be rather possessive of her. Though if she wanted to seduce him, she would have done it already. She does seem rather detached though, as if she doesn't really belong. The mark on her neck though, was defiantly the mark of a vampire. I'll have to ask her about it. I sent Thomas to fetch the doctor. I offered to pay for Dawn's expenses. Mrs. Pratt seemed to approve of that. It's been a few hours since she fainted. Mr. Pratt hasn't left her side. I should probably go check up on her. I walk down the corridor to her room. As I walk in I see Mr. Pratt retract his hand from her own. It seems that he's attempting to keep his behavior proper whilst listening to his heart. I bloody well can't blame him. I fell for my Slayer and she died to protect me. Even though she'd probably do a better job raising our son than I am. Lizzie had been a wonderful Slayer and an even better mother. I shouldn't be thinking about her right now, I have to do my job. I walk up to her bedside and start to call her name.

"Dawn, Dawn you need to wake up. Dawnie?" She shot straight up in the bed as green electricity filled the room.

"I ain't Dawnie!" She screamed it and the sheer force of her scream threw me back into the door. She must be a very powerful witch. Everything calmed down immediately as soon as Mr. Pratt's hand covered her own. It seems he is a center of calm for her. This is very important to remember.

"I'm sorry. I heard someone call me Dawnie, but I'm not Dawnie anymore." Her head hung down as she looked at her hands. She squeezed Mr. Pratt's hand to keep him from taking it back.

"Ms. Dawn, would you like me to make you some tea?" Mr. Pratt ventured.

"I'd like that. Thank you." She responded to his offer. He left the room to fetch the tea, helping me up on his way.

"You should be careful about that rug, sir. It always seems to be slippery." I think he just thought that I tripped. Good, it's better he doesn't know. He's left the room, now I can speak freely with her.

"So, you're a watcher, huh? I figured one of you would come sooner or later." I sputtered at her words.

"How do you know about watchers?"

"My older sister is a Slayer. Her watcher is actually a descendent of yours. Rupert Giles, a sort of father figure for my sister and I, which is the reason why I chose that name. Also I know a great deal about what goes bump in the night."

"I assume you will tell me all about it, Ms. Dawn."

"All in due time, Mr. Giles. The tea should arrive any minute now though."

"Ah, good. Tea would be lovely." I was quite aware that she had change the subject, but I will learn what I can from her.

Anyone who wants to yell at me for not having William's POV after he came back with the tea should be quiet. I'm going to make that the first scene when I get back to 1875. Next chapter will be in the regular timeline. This should tide you over for a bit, I think. Hopefully this is long enough for you; I didn't check my other chapters to see if it was longer. I tried to keep the flow going for my wonderful readers. This is the first chapter in this story that didn't take one afternoon to write. It took three afternoons to write. So it better be good. Read and review, please. P.S. It might take me a while to update since I have to o some research about the Victorian era. Or more specifically women's clothing.


	5. Scoobies and Crushes

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I will only be doing status reports on the Scoobies. I will have a bit of background on the Watcher's Council in 1875 for anyone interested. This will only work in this story.

"Buffy, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, what if she's in heaven. She could be happy. Do you really want to take that away from Dawn?" Willow attempted to steer Buffy away from the course she was on.

"Will, no body fell. She just disappeared. Don't you think that's just a bit strange? Even for Sunnydale. She's probably in a hell dimension, I'm not going to let her stay there."

"But, Buffy…"

"No buts Willow. What kind of sister do you think I am?" Willow knew it was hopeless; there was no detouring the stubborn Slayer from her path. Especially when it was her sister who was involved. May the Goddess have mercy on whoever was in her path because Buffy won't spare any.

"Buffy what kind of spell do you think will be needed? A retrieval spell or a resurrection spell? If it's a resurrection spell I'm not going to do it. No one's allowed to mess with those rules." Willow said making her point clear. She would help but she wasn't going to play God. Buffy smiled and looked at Giles.

"So Giles, what should we do first?" Buffy had a plan and it was already underway. Xander and Anya were at the hospital and Tara was still out cold. Angel had come and taken Spike back to L.A. with him. Willow and Buffy looked at Giles as he spoke slowly.

"First we have to see which dimension she's in, then we have to find the right spell to retrieve her." It was a simple plan, but there are a lot of dimensions. It would take years for them to find Dawn.

In 1875 London

"Mr. Giles, Miss Dawn. I'm back with the tea." Young William walked into the room with two cups of tea.

"Wonderful, William." Then Dawn realized that she had said his first name and that wasn't exactly proper in this time period. She blushed and gave a whispered apology. William turned his head in order to hide his own blush. Apparently they were quite infatuated with each other. Mr. Giles could see what was happening before they could. They were falling in love. He hoped that they would have a long and happy life together.

Sorry it's so short I'm just trying to write a bunch of different stories at the same time and it gets confusing. Hopefully the next chapter will be much longer. Read and Review please.


	6. A day at the Park

Disclaimer: I think it's obvious that I don't own it.

Sorry for the wait. I am working on other stories currently after all. Also could someone please tell me what Mrs. Pratt's name is? It's very annoying when you don't know the first name of a certain character that you're writing. If her name was never mentioned on the show, tell me so I can make it up. Don't just leave me hanging here. I want to thank everyone who's reviewed so far; you are the sweetest people ever. I'm going to try for regular updates though it might take a while for that to happen. Please enjoy the chapter.

1875 London

"Miss Dawn, are you sure you don't mind taking Thomas to the park?"

"Yes. I'm quite sure Uncle Daniel, don't worry. We'll be home before dark."

"Miss Dawn, Miss Dawn hurry I want to show you the new swings." Dawn laughed.

"Alright Thomas. I'll just be a second, I have to get my shawl."

Dawn had been in 1875 for almost two months now. She was starting to get used to it. All the members of the Watcher's Council had already recorded her story in this time. Dawn warned them about what would happen when Quentin Travers took control. She could clean and cook just fine by this century's standards. Sewing and mending clothes on the other hand was turning out to be more difficult, but Dawn just couldn't seem to be able to darn worth a durn. Heck, being able to darn socks wasn't exactly required in her time. Thomas teased her about it all the time. She however teases him about the fact that she could read and translate all the languages that she seems to come across and he couldn't. Having memories of being Time's Elder certainly has its perks.

"Miss Dawn, you're thinking about something aren't you?" Thomas's question brought her back to reality. She had to get him to the park where he'd play for about an hour and then they'd get ice cream and eat it on their way back to the house.

"I was thinking about whether or not we should get ice cream. Do you think we should get ice cream, Thomas?"

"Yes! I'd like some ice cream very much." If there was one thing Dawn liked about this time period, people were polite.

William POV

"Yes! I'd like some ice cream very much." The young voice I recognize to be young Thomas Giles's. Which meant that he was talking to the lovely young woman that I met two months ago. I had to settle out my feelings for Cecily before I could go see Miss Dawn. I couldn't stand being drawn in two directions. It was especially unfair to the two women. What I feel for Cecily is infatuation, what I feel for Dawn is affection. She'd probably be surprised that I've written a poem for her, though unlike my other poetry this one's not half bad.

I watch her through the trees as I sketch the children playing. It just occurred to me that I'm acting a bit stalkerish. That's not good behavior. I'm working on a small job to help pay the bills. Sometimes being a carpenter doesn't pay very much. Mr. Liam is asking for a few sketches of children at play. He's paying a rather tidy sum for it. I'm going to draw Dawn pushing Thomas on the swings. He looks rather happy. I wonder if he thinks of her as a mother figure. To the casual eye they look like a brother and sister out for a day at the park.

Dawn looks absolutely beautiful today. I wonder if she knows that I'm good at drawing. There's someone behind her, it's Mr. Liam! I wonder what he's doing here. I thought he didn't like going outside very often.

Well, I'd better get a backbone and go say hello to Dawn. She looks heavenly with the sun shining in her hair. As I walk over to her Mr. Liam seems to back off a bit but he stays in the shade. I wonder why, it's not particularly hot out.

"Hello Miss Dawn, Thomas. It's a lovely day, isn't it?" Thank God I didn't stutter.

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Thomas's POV

Dawn turned to Mr. Pratt and gave him a smile that just brightened the entire area. I noted that this certain smile is one that Dawn seemed to have reserved for Mr. Pratt and Mr. Pratt only. Mr. Pratt offered to show Dawn his sketches; which she was rather impressed with and asked for one. He said that he would be glad to draw a picture for her. It's obvious to me that the poor sod has fallen head over heals in love with my newfound cousin. I just hope he can deal with the whole supernatural world. It would be a shame if he couldn't, Dawn seems to return his affections. She's been classified as a Potential and only a few Watcher's Journals would show differently.

Mr. Liam's POV

A beautiful brunette is sitting on the swing and smiling at Mr. Pratt as he starts to draw her. That man truly doesn't realize how lucky he is. Though his artistic skill is mediocre at best it certainly makes it easier to pinpoint tasty treats for my women. I don't think I'll actually put this plan to work for another five years but planning ahead certainly doesn't hurt. Pity I'm stuck under this tree until sunset. I think I'll find as much as I can about this Miss Dawn. The girl can't be more than fifteen at the oldest and she looks like she would make a very good vampire. I can't seem but envision her as a goddess of the night. Even more so than Drusilla, my masterpiece. I already planned to add Mr. Pratt to the Aureoles line but if I can turn this girl than my pack will truly be unstoppable.

Sorry if there's a lot of jumping around. I'm trying various page breaks; tell me what you like. Can anyone guess who the mystery man is? I think it's pretty obvious but that's just me. Hopefully everyone will like this chapter. Sorry if it's short this was just a really good place to stop. School is starting this Monday so updates will take longer. Don't worry I will update, even if it takes a while. I hope that I won't ever have a whole year between updates. That gets to be very annoying and I'm rambling now. Review please; I'll give you a cookie.


	7. Happiness at the Proposal

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I just wanted to say that this might be the last update for a while because my school schedule is packed. Hopefully I will still be able to make an update for at least one of my stories once a month. So I apologize for making people upset by taking a long time between updates now.

1877

It had been two years since Dawn came to London. She had been helping "Uncle" Daniel keep his house clean during that time. It was one month until her seventeenth birthday and she was excited. William Pratt had been courting her since a week after her fifteenth birthday. He had come to call today but had requested to talk to Daniel. Dawn decided that since the door was too thick for her to eavesdrop on the conversation, she would help Thomas with his studies.

Dawn and Thomas were sitting in the parlor working on arithmetic when William walked into the room looking nervous but happy. Daniel followed him and said that he'd help Thomas with the rest of his work. Dawn took that to mean that she could spend some unsupervised time with William. Which was always good in her opinion.

"Dawn, could you spare me a moment of your attention?" William asked timidly as he was very nervous.

"Of course, William. Could you accompany me to the kitchen? I should get started on supper soon."

William followed Dawn into the kitchen where she started to look through the recipes that she had gathered so far. He stood still for a moment trying to gather his courage as Dawn leaned against the counter. She silently made her choice and put the rest of the recipes away.

"You want to tell me something, don't you? Just come right out and say it, I'm not going to laugh at you."

He took a deep breath; dropped two one knee and pulled a simple but elegant diamond ring out of his vest pocket.

"Dawn, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

William looked as nervous as hell when he said those words. Dawn stood there and blinked for a moment before she hugged him.

"Yes! Oh, William. Yes, I'd love to be your wife."

William looked down at his now fiancé and smiled. He loved her with all his heart. Dawn would be his Duchess and he would do anything he could to keep her happy. Dawn looked up at William and smiled back at him. He slipped the ring on her finger as he helped her to her feet, rising as he did so. She was so happy that he loved her back; she loved everything about him. She especially loved being in his arms. Dawn wanted to kiss William so bad and she decided that she would. William was very surprised that Dawn was kissing him still he returned the kiss. It was a short but passionate kiss that they both enjoyed. Dawn was resting her head against his chest and wearing a smile as William rested his chin on the top of her head with a smile on his own face. Dawn was firmly wrapped tightly in William's arms. He knew that he would love her until he ceased to exist.

At this point Thomas ran in asking if they were engaged. As William stammered a yes, Dawn nuzzled deeper into his chest. She couldn't think of anyplace she'd rather be, she was so filled with joy.

Scoobies

"It's been two years. Why can't we find her?" Buffy practically shouted this. Xander and Anya had returned back to their apartment, their baby son kept crying when he was around Buffy, something about the atmosphere. They were planning their second wedding anniversary party, which would be in about six months. They started planning it early because they had an infant so it would take a very long time to get the planning done.

Willow and Tara were trying to figure out how they could get out of the same room as the angry Slayer. They were still really grateful that they had sat down under the window that day that Warren had showed up.

"I don't know Buffy, but don't you think we should call it a night on the research and go on patrol. There's been a lot of baddies lately hasn't there?"

"Yeah, Wills there has. Besides patrol sounds good, it'll give me a chance to vent my anger."

"So we'll reconvene in the morning to do a search for Dawn's essence then. It's quite possible that she didn't leave this dimension; she simply left this time period. Haven't I told you this every week or so?"

Buffy had already left the room by the time he finished his first sentence. Everyone else left for home, Buffy was the only one who still really believed that Dawn wasn't happy wherever she was.


	8. A wedding and A lead

Disclaimer: me no own it.

Feedback: would be awesome. Thank you, everyone who reviewed. You are my motivation. If you feel that the pacing is too quick, don't hesitate to ask me to slow it down; the story, not the updating. I think the updates are coming too slowly as it is. Someone will you please tell me what William's mum's name is! You know William. Yeah, I want to know what his Mum's name is. Just in case that second to last, wait, third to last sentence, no, fourth from last sentence was confusing. Gee, I think I just confused myself. Enjoy the story and drop me a line!

August 5, 1877

"I'm so nervous. What if I trip?"

"You're not going to trip, Dawn. You're the only person I know who can walk in heels and a full gown for more than three hours at a time and not trip."

"Hope's right, Dawn. You are going to walk up an aisle, stand still for 15 minutes at the most and then you will walk back down the aisle. Then your new husband will help you into a handsome carriage where you will ride to the marvelous ball of a wedding celebration."

"What if I faint?"

"You won't faint. You didn't faint at your debutante ball, you're not going to faint now."

"Cecily, stop pacing! _I'm_ the one getting married. _I_ get to be the basket case."

"Marie's not here yet! What if something happened to her?"

"She's talking to her brother. You know, the man I'm marrying!"

A pretty brunette stuck her head in the door and said it was time to go. Dawn thanked Marie and assembled her bridesmaids.

Hope was kind and as young as she was, was one of the eldest Slayers to have lived. Every time a Giles headed the Council the Slayers tended to live longer. Cecily was a well-meaning girl who really wasn't much more than a pretty face. She was a kind beautiful girl; she just wasn't very smart. Cecily wasn't mentally retarded by any stretch of the word she simply wasn't taught to think for herself and tended to miss the obvious, all the time. She reminded Dawn of Harmony from time to time.

The three young women went ahead out the door and arranged themselves for the walk down the aisle. Once the wedding march began Dawn nervously started down the aisle. As soon as her eyes met William's clear blue ones all nervousness fled. She felt only his love for her and her love for him and Dawn knew that she would forever treasure this day. Whereas her smile had been nervous it now showed that her emotion was pure happiness.

They had decided not to have a Mass ceremony, which can take up to an hour. So the wedding only took about thirty minutes with a single photograph that had the newlyweds standing next to each other. The two had been told not to smile, for some reason that Dawn could not fathom, but it seemed that they couldn't keep the grins off of their faces. Dawn laughed when she was asked why it was that she grinned at the camera.

"It's our wedding day, we're supposed to be happy. How can I keep from smiling?"

With the Scoobies

"Buffy, I believe that Dawn may still be in this dimension. However, there is no way, that I can think of presently, that she could possibly be in this time period." Giles gingerly spoke to the often-unpredictable Slayer that Buffy had become over the past couple of years.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier? We could have saved so much time."

"It was a simple mistake. When we were searching dimensions, no one thought to look inside this one for her. All of us assumed that she had traveled to another dimension."

"You're sure? She's in this dimension?" Buffy was afraid to hope. Could they finally have a lead? Would they truly be able to get Dawn back? And save her from whatever cruel unbearable fate that had befallen her without anyone to protect her in her injured state?

"Yes, her essence, the essence of the Key, is very bright so it was easier to find than Dawn herself. Her essence has not left this dimension. We would need to cast a complex spell however to pinpoint her exact location."

"There's no time to waste. Let's get Willow and Tara and do it." Buffy spoke quickly as she was eager to have made some headway in this quest at long last. Remembering her friends' preference to stay away from uber-powerful spells concern flooded her features.

"They can do the spell, right? It's not too powerful?"

"Buffy, it will take a few months just to get the proper materials for the spell. It's not particularly powerful, just very complex. This spell will take a great deal of concentration and it requires very few mistakes, if any at all."

Buffy nodded accepting that this may take a great deal of time. But she finally allowed herself to hope. Dawn might be back home in time to celebrate her eighteenth birthday. Spike would get back in touch with reality long enough to drag himself out of The Dark. A smile slowly spread across Buffy's face. She and Dawn would be a family again.

If you're wondering where Spike is during all this I plan to write a companion story to this one starring him. It's the same events that happen here, it's just in his POV the entire time. I'll probably write it a few months after I finish this one. The reason for that is I have other stories to finish and I need to get those done before I wrote a new story. And I have three different new stories trying to work themselves out in my head besides the companion fic. Sorry about how short it is, I don't get on the computer much anymore. Between school and work and household chores, I just don't have the time. So please review and check out my other stuff.


	9. The Window

Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned it I could buy my own car instead of bumming rides off of my friends.

Feedback: is always good. Thank you everyone who reviewed. Especially

Shayme: Thank you for the tip but what do you mean by "That was in 19." I'm confused, please clarify.

MusicaGrant: Thank you for dropping me a line. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Kim: thank you very much. You get a German Chocolate Cake for being specific and informative. Would you please provide me with lots of information about the First? I am clueless and I need to know what happened for one of my stories.

Eitak47: Thank you for reviewing. I hope you know that you are border lining on muse, Katie. I will probably take the offer too. Thank you for all your help.

I am requesting that all of my readers go take a look at my story **_Hope and Faith_** because I have no bloody idea what to do with the pacing. I'm serious, I need help! I can't update that story until I know what to do with the pacing! It'll bug me to no end and I'll end up ignoring my frustrated muse. This will make my muse run away and leave me defenseless against the awful writers block. I won't be able to write anything for months! Please help me and prevent this tragedy.

With The Scoobies

"Buffy, I think we have everything we need. The spell will only show us where she is. It'll be like looking at her through a window. Only she won't be able to see us or hear us. But we'll be able to hear her, only Dawn though. Just cause we're tuned in to her. She'll probably only be able to sense that someone is watching her." Willow explained to Buffy what the situation was. Buffy nodded, she was too choked up to speak.

Tara was setting up the components for the spell. The spell would be attached to a mirror and whenever someone said the command words then Dawn would appear in the mirror. That was why the spell was so complicated. They would need to check up on her from time to time while they were researching a way to get her home. Luckily they had several leads for getting her home that they had found in the two years that she had been gone.

"Okay, let's get started. I don't know how long Alex will stay asleep." Anya said after finally getting her and Xander's son to lie down for his nap. They started the spell and when it was complete they saw something in the mirror. It was kind of fuzzy at first but soon became clearer.

"I see it. It's Dawn!" Buffy, who had the best eyesight, saw it first. It was Dawn but she was wearing a coat and a dress that fit better in a different time period. Judging form the gas lamps it was probably the late 1800's. It looked like she was in a roller skating rink. There was someone next to her; it was a young man with light brown curls pulled back in a low ponytail. It was fashionable for men to wear their hair like that at the time.

When he raised his head there were gasps all around the room. It was clearly William the Bloody. His hair was mussed up and he wore an evil grin as he leaned over Dawn like a hawk. She shyly smiled back at him, peeking through her eyelashes. It looked sweet and innocent yet very coy at the same time. The only person they knew who could pull that off was Dawn.

It looked like she was sitting down on a bench and there was a gathering of material that was bunched up on her lap. It made a small lump near her stomach. It looked like he was saying something to Dawn and she smiled even wider and nodded her head. She pointed up at a piece of mistletoe above their heads. He smiled and kissed her lips gently. He stood up, said something else and walked over to a nearby vender. He kept an eye on Dawn the entire time.

Dawn had just gotten her shoes back on when he came back holding a bag of roasted chestnuts. He handed her the chestnuts and picked up her skates. He offered his arm to her as she stood up. As the material fell from its place they saw that her stomach had become slightly rounded. Right before the image faded they saw him whisper in her ear and while a carriage pulled up beside them a bite mark became visible on her neck. A vampire bite mark was on her neck. It wasn't near any arteries in the neck.


	10. A Complex Reflection

Disclaimer: I own the plot, nothing else. Seriously, I don't.

Feedback: Yes please! I live on it!

A/N Mommy pointed out to me that Dawn had yet to reflect over her situation. So that's what this chapter will be about. This is pretty much written in third person but is still just Dawn's thoughts about her situation. Sorry for the wait, I just got really busy. Preparing for college and fighting a major case of writers block, however I have emerged triumphant with a nice long chapter to make up for the wait! Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter!

London December 10th 1877

Dawn was sitting on a bench inside the London Roller Rink. It was the first roller rink in the world and had opened a few years ago. Dawn and William had decided to come and skate for an afternoon; they were starting a winter tradition. She remembered the look on Williams face when she kept her balance on the skates. He looked so surprised; he was just so adorable. Dawn had laughed at him and when he started to look offended she simply kissed him. Kissing him certainly did clarify her cause of amusement as well as melt away his anger in a wave of passion, had they not been in public that kiss would have been a lot more passionate than a quick kiss on the lips.

William was currently taking her skates off for her. He insisted on doing that for her, since he didn't want to risk her injuring herself. Though it was not really possible for her to be injured while taking her skates off, he just wanted to be safe. William's about to get them some roasted chestnuts while Dawn sits there waiting well in his line of sight.

It's so cute how he's so protective of her lately. Before he was protective of her, just not to this degree. The reason for that increase in protectiveness is that they were expecting their first child. Both Dawn and William were thrilled about it. They would be parents!

The very idea of bearing William's child just invigorated her. But the thought that had she not jumped into that portal then she would probably never have children with Spike; vampires can't have kids. That got her thinking about what might have happened if William hadn't been there when she landed. The thought was scary to say the least.

She didn't like thinking about it. Dawn had lost track of how many times she had had nightmares about that happening.

The amount of times when she had simply sat and contemplated what ifs were too numerous to count. The very thought of waking up without William terrified her so that Dawn would be paralyzed by that fear of losing him.

Dawn had had that nightmare the morning after her wedding night. Why, she had no idea. William had soothed her with kisses and words of love and comfort. She still remembered his surprise when he saw the mark on her neck. The vampire bite that Spike had given her the day Dawn found out that she was the Key. That bite marked her as his mate for all eternity and proved she was real. Even if Dawn had been able to live without him before that there was no way that she could now. Once a vampire has marked his mate they are inseparably bound together forever. One could not exist without the other.

William asked what that mark meant when he saw it as her wedding dress started to fall off of her shoulders. Dawn told him that the mark meant she belonged to him. That she was his and couldn't live without him even if she wanted to. Dawn remembered trembling because she needed him so. She was a virgin but had gone two whole years without being kissed by him, and stealing a kiss from William when they got engaged did help sate her till their wedding night but Dawn hadn't been sure if she could survive much longer without him. She wasn't sure if she could survive another minute without having William, all of him, completely. Luckily, she didn't have to wait anymore.

Dawn knew that William was her soul mate as much as Spike was because they were in essence the same man. William was her soul mate because he had the soul. So was Spike because a little bit of William had stayed with him through the years and Dawn had made that bit flourish and grow. That's why Spike was referred to as Dawn's soul mate.

Dawn remembered explaining her tale to Daniel; it was so amusing to watch the way he reacted when she told him the complete history of the Scoobies. It was interesting to hear his different theories as to what type of magical being she was. He promised to try to alleviate the conditions of their lives if he wasn't able to at least prevent some of their troubles. Dawn couldn't help but pray that at least a few Slayers might be able to keep from falling into the dark now. She vividly remembered Daniel's reaction when she told him of Wesley and Faith. He had shook his head and said that it was a shame that the Council had get deteriorated so far from their actual objective. There were no rules against a romantic relationship between a Watcher and their Slayer. It was considered foolish to pursue such a relationship but it wasn't forbidden. Slayers were people and were treated as such in this century but not the next.

As time passed Dawn came into her powers as well as her memories of being the Key. Her memories reasserted themselves and became structured. Once her memories had sorted themselves out they weren't so overwhelming anymore. Dawn gained control over her powers and her knowledge. Dawn set the record straight for the Council and was now noted not as a Potential but as an oracle. She predicted what would happen to the Council and the time of two Slayers. The time of two Slayers was deemed a prophecy in itself. Dawn knew it had not existed before she went back in time. The prediction had existed; it just wasn't considered a legitimate prophecy.

The prophecy was written in Latin and is read. **Whenever the Slayer dies another is called. There will be a time when the Chosen One will become the Chosen Two. There will be three Slayers who will live to see this time. The first shall die and call the second as she is revived before an hour passes her death. A year shall pass and the second Slayer, the one who is still tied to the line, will die and call the third. She shall remain in life for an entire decade without death. The Third Slayer in this short cycle will be the Chosen Second. The Chosen One and the Chosen Second will be as different as day and night. The Chosen One will shine forth her light and fight the forces of evil without temptation or passion. She is a force of nature as beautiful and as beloved as the sun. The Chosen Second will see the world in twilight and fight malicious forces in the night with valor and passion. She is as deadly and dark as she is beautiful. The Second is night personified. She is passionate and mysterious, beloved, temptuous and truly unobtainable for one cannot hold the night. The Chosen One is similarly unobtainable, for one cannot hold the sunlight. The light shall turn to dark to hold her up and the night will turn to her partner to help her fight.**

Two hundred thirty words! Now that's a long prophecy. Of course, landing on the other side of the Atlantic almost two centuries before she jumped did cause a headache. The reason why she landed where she did and when she did is because of William's soul crying out to her as she passed through the ages. Why Dawn landed in a field was probably because William and his mother were returning home from a walk and just happened to be passing by.

Dawn remembered that day at the park when William sketched her for the first time. She was sitting on a swing and she felt a presence behind her. When Dawn glanced behind she saw Angelus standing in the shade of a tree. She was so scared Dawn almost fell off the swing. Luckily, William had caught her. He held her trembling hands and soothed her soul with his gentle words. Dawn didn't know why Angelus was there and it scared her shitless. The event still rattled her when she thought of it.

It had been awfully nice of William's mother to settle in the family's country home and leave the townhouse to William and Dawn. She had merely said that she would be in the way now that William had taken a wife and that she would insist that they visit in the summer. It made Dawn sad to think of the story that Spike told her of his mum. It was such an awkward story. Spike turned his mum and when she woke up she wanted to shag him till he was dust! The poor thing had to stake her. Though if Dawn were there she would have staked her herself. He's mine! Dawn thought possessively. All mine by right, by law, in the eyes of the Lord and the devil! William belonged to Dawn as much as she belonged to him.

All the while her thoughts were in the past she kept half her mind in the present. It still amazed her that she could multitask her thoughts to such a degree. She exchanged jokes with William and pointed towards a piece of mistletoe hanging above them. As William lowered his head toward hers Dawn captured his lips in a possessive kiss with her own lips. He mentioned getting chestnuts and Dawn agreed. William walked swiftly toward the vendor, glancing at his wife from time to time. Dawn had just gotten her boots back on when her husband had received his purchase of chestnuts.

William walked back to Dawn holding a bag of roasted chestnuts. He helped her up and put an arm around her waist while offering her some of the chestnuts. Dawn realized that she had to go through her collection of recipes that she had collected from the archives of the Council's Library. She wanted to make something special tonight. Something inside told her that an event had just occurred that would affect her life with William in a big way.


	11. Baby Girl and trials

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

A/N I hate this stupid windows Vista! I had to search for an hour on this computer in order to find a program that would allow me to write! Now about the story: I'm sorry it took so long but I'm switching from my old computer to the new one. Unfortunately my HP can no longer handle the internet. It is seven years old after all. With the end of the school year at hand I just might be able to update more often.

Reviewers: Thank you!

April 10, 1878 London, England

Dawn was lying in a bed in a room lit by gas lamps. Her hair was wet from sweat and clung to her head, neck and shoulders in ringlets. She was tired yet happy and rather worried. She and William had been startled when her water broke during tea. There were so many things that could go wrong during labor. Probably because it seemed to last so long! Dawn had spent the entire evening praying that everything would be alright. William was pacing in the hall; she could hear his footsteps as they hit the floor. Dawn knew that he was as worried as she was. At least she was full term. That knowledge was a comfort to her.

"Very good, Mrs. Pratt. I've got the child. It's a girl! A blue-eyed little girl!"

William burst through the open door as the doctor finished speaking. A few curls had fallen in his face, his glasses were sliding down his nose and he was panting. When William's eyes fell on their daughter, Dawn could clearly see the love in his eyes. In that moment she knew that her husband would be a wonderful father. William watched as the doctor carefully washed the infant and wrapped her in a blanket. He walked up to the doctor who put the newborn into her father's arms very carefully. After a moment, William lifted his head and looked at Dawn.

"We have a little girl. A little baby girl." He spoke a little breathlessly, his words full of wonder at the miracle of life.

"Bring her over here, William. I want to see her." Dawn waved him over with her hand. Joy lit up her eyes and as exhausted as she was Dawn felt truly and fully at peace when her husband settled the infant into her arms. As the sunlight started to peek through the windows William settled next to her on the bed with his head so close to hers that Dawn could feel his glasses on her cheek.

"She's so beautiful, my Duchess Dawn. She looks so much like you. What would you like to name her?"

"How about we name her after your mother? Anne makes such a nice middle name doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does make a nice middle name. Would you be terribly upset if I called her Aurora though?"

"Of course not, William. She _was_ born at first light, the name suits her."

"Wonderful! She's absolutely perfect, just like her mother." At this Dawn blushed and kissed her husband's cheek. The love and joy in the room was tangible enough to simply reach out and touch it. Dawn giggled and whispered to her new daughter that she loved her.

"She's got your eyes and your curly hair William. All she's got is my hair color. At least no I know why I had heartburn." Dawn was joking and he knew it. He still took the bait anyway.

"She's got your nose. Can't deny that now can you, Duchess?" It had become as natural to hear him call her Duchess as it had for her to be referred to as Niblet. It was simply another trait that distinguished the two sides of her love from each other yet bound them at the same time. Dawn's thoughts were cut off when she noticed her little girl fussing.

"William, would you please hand her to me? I think our Aurora might hungry." William handed the infant to his wife who began nursing their daughter, Aurora.

Sunnydale Crew, Present Day

"Alright Buffy, I think we have just about everything but with the First Evil making its appearance maybe we just wait a little while before bringing Dawn back. I mean, we don't want to bring her back in the middle of an apocalypse." Willow spoke a tad hesitantly to the tense Slayer. Buffy only nodded her head. She was wondering if Spike would be successful in his own endeavor to save Dawn.

Spike, wherever he is

Spike stood in front of a demon judge and started with asking his questions after completing both of tests that were set before him.

"You said that I can get what I need if I pass the bloody trials right? I passed your trials. When can I have Dawn back?"

"You have one more test and then you will be given your reward."

"It's about bloody time I got my reward."


	12. Foreshadowing

Disclaimer: I don't own it! Please don't sue!

A/N Oh! My gosh, it's after Christmas already! I can't believe it. Stupid writer's block! I'm sorry that I've taken so long but I was working on other stories. This story will most likely be wrapping up within the next few chapters. I'm going to try to make the chapters longer. So I won't be subjecting you to more suspense than necessary, unless you like suspense.

Neonn: You are awesome! Thank you for the ideas!

London, England 1878

Dawn stood over the bassinet in her room. She was picking up her crying child with the care of an ever patient mother. William was working late again, it seemed as though his business was booming. While this was a good thing it also meant longer hours away from home. William was always so tired when he came home but he seemed to cheer up at the thought of being with his family. Of course with a new baby, neither of them were getting much in the way of sleep. William was holding up splendidly, Dawn on the other hand had only her wonderfully large amount of patience.

William's mother, Anne, was going to have dinner with them tonight and would be visiting all evening. Considering how incredibly close he and his mother were she would probably stay the night as well. William knew how dangerous it was to go walking about after dark. Daniel had been surprised at how well William reacted to the knowledge about what went bump in the night. Dawn herself had innately known that everything would work out just fine. William had even helped train Potentials before Aurora was born. He was actually quite good at it, the Potentials that he helped train were the best of the best. All five of them had a Slayer's kill ratio without any of them ever being called! Oh, yes. William Pratt was most definitely on the Council's favorite list.

"Mrs. Pratt, it's almost dinnertime. Would you like me to head home now?" Catherine, one of the Potentials William had been training, had come to call. She was a sweet young girl, only about fifteen.

"Yes, Catherine. That'll be just fine. You should get home before dark. No need making your parents worry."

"Yes ma'am, Mrs. Pratt." Once again, the young mother is amazed at how polite everyone is in this time.

Dawn gently put down the now sated infant. William should be home from work now any moment and his mother was due to arrive in five minutes. Aurora was about a month old and summer was just around the corner. William was trying his best to finish all of his in-town projects before they left to visit his mother in the country. Once they got there he would probably spend a few hours doing odd jobs. It was a summer tradition that he'd kept up since he was a boy.

"I'm home!" William's joyful shout came from the entrance downstairs. It was quickly followed by the thud of the door closing and resting in its frame.

"We're in the nursery!"

Dawn giggled as she heard her husband bound up the stairs. He was soon standing in the doorway, watching her as she turned around. Dawn herself took a good look at her beloved. All that training certainly kept him in shape and considering the fact that William makes his living as a carpenter, he'd better be good with his hands. His wife knew from experience that he was good with his hands, very good. The couple stared at each other for a moment before they leapt into a passionate embrace. However their crying daughter soon interrupted them.

"I'll change her. Duchess, why don't you go check on dinner? Mum will be here soon."

"Of course, William." She stole a kiss from her wonderfully loving husband before heading down the stairs. William swiftly changed his daughter's diaper, all the while teasing and tickling her. He certainly was a good father indeed. A few minutes later Dawn came bouncing up the stairs.

"Dinner's ready, luv. Your mother's in the parlor or is it a sitting room? I never can seem to remember."

"It's a parlor, Duchess. I'll carry Aurora down. Would you please get a diaper or two?" William had been halfway through his last sentence when he turned to look at his wife who had already grabbed two diapers.

"Way ahead of you, hon. Come on, dinner's getting cold." William carried his happy daughter down the stairs and into the parlor. Dawn stuck the diapers under his arm and started to serve dinner.

"Hello Mum. Dinner's ready so I guess we'd better go eat."

"William, you will let me hold that dear grandchild of mine."

"Mum, I just got home. Rora fusses and screams if I don't hold her. Would you mind terribly to hold her until after dinner?"

"Oh, I'll be fine. Let's head into the dining room, shall we?"

Right before they came into the dining room Dawn was almost finished setting the table. She looked up when she heard a noise outside the window. It was Drusilla. She was outside their house, outside their home. This was bad. At least William knew not to invite her in; he knew who Drusilla was, what she was and what she looks like. So Dawn didn't have to worry about anyone inviting her in, but just seeing Drusilla was wigging her out. William saw this as he came in the room. He however simply thought that she was tired.

Scoobies Present Day

The First was culminating in Sunnydale. A lot had changed in a couple of years. First off Doyle wasn't dead, in fact he and Cordy had gotten married, Angel had a kid and married a thief named Gwen Raiden, Faith and Wesley had eloped, there were so many changes. Faith's life didn't get so messed up, Wesley and other Watchers actually got some field training prior to taking their oaths, Faith went back to school and that in itself was so very different. She and Cordy were actually best friends, she taught Cordy how to fight and Cordy taught her all about the high life. In fact Faith's friendship with Cordy kept her from going to the dark side, that and a rather attractive assistant librarian.

Faith and Cordelia went clubbing from time to time and that is how they met Lorne and Gwen within the first six weeks of moving to L.A. Gwen could electrocute anything or anyone, consequence of being struck by lightning several times, and was extremely handy in tight spots. Gwen and Angel had started dating when Darla showed up. Since Gwen can basically short circuit any electrical device, she jumped onto the Beacon before anyone else could and short-circuited it.

Lorne on the other hand was a full-fledged demon, from Pylea. He is an empathy who runs a bar called Caritas. He's a sweet guy whose club gets demolished a couple of times on account of Angel. Still the girls adore him as a little brother and Lorne has his pet names for everyone.

A/N I know this is short and extremely late. I apologize. I will go more in depth with the present day conditions in my Repercussions series. It will probably take me a couple of years to finish them though. I hope that you enjoyed it and if you have any suggestions drop me a line.


	13. The Beginning of the End

Disclaimer: I do not own it.

A/N: Sorry I had writers block. The story will most likely wrap up in the next chapter. Here's the new chapter for you. More reviews equals sooner updates.

London, England 1879

"Dawn, are you sure you want to go to the country house? The baby will be coming soon."

"This baby's not coming for another two months at the very least, William. You shouldn't worry so much."

Though Dawn loved how much her husband fussed over her and of course, the way he did it. William is a very loving man and he doesn't come off as too overprotective. That is, of course, always a bonus.

"It seems to be in my nature to worry. On the other hand, my dear, you seem to be rather carefree."

"Oh, that just the way I am. My mind is always going in too many directions so quickly that worrying gives me a headache. Luckily, I have such a practical personality."

"Mmm, yes. Practical and carefree, the combination suits you wonderfully. How in the world did you ever fall in love with me?" William kisses Dawn softly on her lips a few times while he is speaking. This was, to Dawn's delight, a habit of his.

"Dear William, the reasons are simply far too numerous to name."

One of the reasons that will never be named to him would be that she was already bound to his future vampiric self. Dawn was very careful about avoiding paradoxes. The one thing that she couldn't figure out is why Spike had not recognized her immediately as his Duchess. How had he lost his memories of her? The man had an extremely excellent memory. How could he not recognize someone that important to him, even if it had been a century? Spike was turned in late 1880; they only had a year left together, less than a year actually. Time was running out and it seemed to be passing faster with every second.

William smirked and kissed her soundly on the lips. He was blissfully unaware of her distraught thoughts. A soft cry from the nursery alerted the couple that their daughter had awoken from her afternoon nap. William turned to walk out of the room and tend to his young daughter, Aurora. The toddler came walking into her mother's sewing room with a huge smile on her face. William was closely following their daughter, ready to shy her away from any sharp corners. It really was amazing how steady Rora was on her feet. She was barely a year old after all.

"Mum!"

"Rora, did you come to see your mum?" The toddler in question just nodded her head and smiled widely in response.

"Are you hungry, Rora?" Aurora nodded eagerly. William was always taking such good care of her.

"Yeah!" The little girl was getting closer to saying yes every day.

"Come here, and I'll fix you a sandwich."

"She smells like she needs her nappy changed first."

"I'll change her. Then you can take her down. I have to go to the shop and finish that last order."

"Is that the one for the dining room set?"

"That's the one, love. Don't worry, Dawn. I'll be back before sunset."

Somewhere in Africa present day

Spike looked up at the judge before him with shock in his suddenly tearful eyes.

"You told me that you'd give me Dawn! My bloody soul was never mentioned!" Not to mention the few good years' worth of missing memories that were popping up in his head. Each one was more painfully bittersweet than the last. The rush made Spike feel as though he was about to pass out.

"You asked for a way to find Dawn. Your soul is her anchor. This is the way to bring her back."

Then the judge walked away. Leaving Spike alone with his soul, which was crying out in aguish at the vampire's horrific memories. All those soulless years with vampiric violent tendencies had racked up a virtual mountain of sin. Almost every single memory repulsed and mortified William. Then there were the memories that had appeared in his mind the same time Spike was reunited with his soul.

Bittersweet memories of a wonderful brunette, his own wedding, and of his own happy family riding in a carriage through the country filled the wretched man's mind. Then there was the fire. Good Lord, the fire. He'd had that recurring dream ever since Glory had reared her ugly head. Spike finally recognized his brunette bride's face and her name.

"Bloody hell, Niblit and Duchess are the same Dawn."

Demon and soul both wept bitterly at the belated realization. Man and beast awaited the onslaught of memories as the pieces fell into place. The times and the portals started to make sense now. He stood up. If he hurried Spike knew he could stop it. William agreed to stop screaming at Spike for his horrendous actions. The man he'd been shared his highest priority with the vampire; saving Dawn from her fate no matter what. Unfortunately, he didn't know that the closer he got to Sunnydale the more delayed he'd be. Spike had no idea that the First Evil was awaiting him.

Sunnydale present day

"Hey, Tara. How many Potentials did we find today?"

"We found two girls today Buffy. And Willow just got back from L.A. with Faith. Willow and I are going to have to recast the wards. The First has really been wearing them down."

"I hope you can hurry, Tara. My son just had a nightmare about his grandfather. Tony Harris died from alcohol poisoning before Alex was even born!"

Anya always was more tactless than usual when she was worried. She was very worried. A couple of townspeople had committed suicide and the First was starting to get to the Potentials currently on the Hellmouth. Not to mention that the First kept attacking her while wearing the faces of men that she'd reaped vengeance against over the years.  
"Maybe the First could attack him like that because you were pregnant with Alex at the time of T. Harris' death." Xander quickly quipped while holding his whimpering toddler son.

"You're probably right sweetie."

Anya rubbed her hand across her swollen belly in an attempt to comfort her unborn infant. She was barely holding it together but she had her family to think of. Xander had already had some pretty bad nightmares. More than once, Xander had gathered both son and wife into his arms before he'd relax enough to go back to sleep. Willow and Tara weren't faring much better than Xander was. Giles looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep in about a week, there was a lot of his misspent youth that he wouldn't tell any of them about. And Xander's mother, Marti. Poor, poor Marti. The woman had checked herself into the insane asylum because she kept seeing her dead abusive husband raging at her. Xander and family dutifully visited her every Saturday and reassured her that she was loved.

A/N Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave me reviews. I really will write faster with the more reviews I get. And thanks for the inspiration, eitak.


	14. The End

Terapsina: They had diapers back then. I think the British term for them is nappies. But Angel said that he knew how to change a diaper, an old fashioned one that was clothe and a safety pin. That's what they used for diapers, clothe. That's what I meant. Thanks for catching the comment though, I forgot to type nappies.

A/N This is the last chapter in Jump in Time and it's a long one. Wow, it's taken me awhile to get here. I hope that you have all enjoyed the story immensely. The sequel shall be arriving sometime in the next year. This is the first story that I've finished since I've been on the site. That's kind of sad; two years here and only one story done. Anyway, please enjoy the last installment and keep an eye out for the sequel.

England 1879

"Aurora, look at the birds! We're almost to your grandmother's house."

"Yay!"

"Duchess, why don't you sing to her?"

"That's a great idea!"

"Yes, dear."

"Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we go."

"That always sounds like part of a song."

"It is part of a song. I just can't remember the rest of it."

"That's too bad, love."

"Yeah, oh well. Are you excited about visiting your grandmother, Aurora?"

"Yeah!"

The carriage that carried the small family on the country road came to a slow halt nearby a very shady grove of oak trees. There was an enclosed gazebo barely inside the grove. William looked out the window and recognized it as the edge of Mr. Liam's country estate.

"It's beautiful, but why did we stop?"

William looked across the carriage at his darling wife and smiled. She did not yet know of his romantic plans for the day ahead.

"You only managed a quick glimpse of the grove last year. I asked Mr. Liam if I could show you the inside of the gazebo on our way to the country house. He was very considerate to allow us permission."

"Is Mr. Liam one of your Academy friends?"

"No, Duchess. I met Mr. Liam at the Museum of Natural History about a month before I met you."

"Oh, well it was nice of your friend to let us look in at his gazebo."

"Yes, Rora will you mind staying nearby the carriage with Mr. Gable?"

Mr. Gable was the driver and terribly fond of Aurora. She was about the same age as his son Thomas. William knew that he could trust Gable with his daughter. After all, he and Dawn were only going to be gone for a few minutes.

"No, Papa. Will I get to play?" Rora had a mischievous smirk on her otherwise innocent face. Dawn leaned down to give her daughter a whispered warning.

"Don't play any tricks on Mr. Gable or you won't get any cookies when we get to Grandmother's house."

Rora's eyes went wide at the thought of no cookies. She knew her mother would follow through on that threat. She quickly nodded her head.

"That's my girl."

William chuckled at his girls and extended his right arm to his Duchess. Dawn took his arm and stepped out of the carriage carefully. They started walking towards the gazebo when Darla came out of it. Dawn didn't recognize her as she had never actually seen her.

"Ah, Mrs. Liam. How are you today?"

"I'm quite alright Mr. Pratt. But the gazebo is simply a mess. One of the windows was smashed by a tree branch during a storm over the spring. Both my husband and I would prefer it if you visited after we'd gotten it cleaned up."

"That sounds reasonable. You wouldn't mind taking a trip out here a little later on would you, Duchess?"

"Not at all, Dear."

Dawn was distracted. There was something about Mrs. Liam that just seemed off. The predatory look in her eyes didn't help to alleviate Dawn's nerves either.

"Would it be alright if I talked to Mrs. Pratt privately?"

"I don't see any problem with that, do you love?"

William asked Dawn. Dawn quickly tried to think of a reasonable claim to not be alone with Mrs. Liam. However, Dawn's natural curiosity won out over caution as it often does. William let go of his wife's arm somewhat reluctantly.

"It'll be fine, but just for a few moments."

"I'll check out the damage at the gazebo while you visit."

"That is awfully nice of you, Mr. Pratt."

"I'm just being neighborly, Mrs. Liam."

Dawn and Mrs. Liam walked a few yards away from William and the gazebo in silence before Mrs. Liam spoke. During that time, Dawn noticed how closely Mrs. Liam stuck to the shadows and how pale the blonde beauty was.

"Mrs. Pratt, isn't it a bit odd to be traveling while in the family way?"

"Well, Mrs. Liam it's a family tradition for us to spend the summer in the country. I wouldn't want to disturb that tradition just because I'm pregnant."

"Ah, is this your first child?" The more they talked the more at ease Dawn was. She knew that Mrs. Liam was either a vampire or burned very easily from the way she'd been behaving. Even pregnant Dawn could still fight well with ease so she didn't feel any necessary danger.

"No, this is our second child. Our daughter Aurora is by the carriage."

"Oh, how old is she?"

"Aurora is a little over a year old. Do you have any children?"

"Yes, my husband and I have a daughter."

"Oh, how old is she?"

"Drusilla is nine years old. She loves this grove a great deal."

"Was she sad to see the gazebo?"

"Oh, yes. Dru cried when she saw the damage. She's such a delicate child."

"Do you only have the one child?"

"Yes, I've been talking to my husband about having another for a few years now. I'm not sure if he wants to try again or not."

"Why aren't you sure?"

"I had complications with Drusilla's birth. Both she and I barely made it through."

Dawn put a hand on Mrs. Liam's arm in an effort to comfort her for what was clearly a painful memory. From the way Mrs. Liam spoke Dawn could tell how much she loved her daughter.

"I can see that he'd be reluctant to lose you." Mrs. Liam looked at Dawn through eyes that were beginning to glass over. She gave Dawn a watery smile.

"You have no idea how sweet you are, do you?"

"Probably not."

"Please call me Darla, Mrs. Pratt. You seem to be my friend already."

"Only if you'll call me Dawn, I'm so glad that I've made a friend so soon." The two women had walked to the end of the road and turned around to walk back towards the gazebo. Both were smiling now.

"Of course, Dawn. I do hope that you'll come to visit me for tea once in a while."

"That sounds lovely. I hope that you'll have another child. You seem to love your daughter Drusilla a great deal."

"Yes, I do love her quite a bit. Thank you for the hope."

"It's no problem. I hope for a lot of things."

The two new friends made their way towards the gazebo in a comfortable silence. The two wives appeared to be bosom buddies despite having only just met a mere five minutes ago. William was just walking out of the gazebo in time to look at the two of them together. He smiled and chuckled at the sight. William raised his arm to wave at them just before Darla gasped.

"Is everything alright, Darla?"

"Oh, yes. I just had the oddest sensation."

"Perhaps your doctor would have an explanation for it?"

Dawn winked at her. Darla could see that Dawn was smiling and hinting that maybe she was with child and didn't know it. Darla was amazed at how hopeful and good this girl was. Not to mention how easy it was to become fond of her. No wonder Angelus had wanted to turn her. Given her husband's protectiveness, it was also no wonder that Angelus had failed. Darla had felt Mr. Pratt's eyes on her several times during their short walk.

Dawn bid farewell to Darla with the promise to come for tea one day soon. William then escorted his beloved wife back towards the carriage. Aurora was ecstatic to see her parents even though it had only been fifteen minutes.

"Mummy, Papa!" Rora ran to her father's legs and held her hands up to him. William picked up his daughter and lifted her into the carriage before helping his wife into it as well. Then they continued on their way to the country manor. Within ten minutes the carriage was pulling up to their mile long tree lined driveway.

"Oh, I always love the view of the house from this angle. One day I'll have to sit out here by the gate and paint our family estate."

"Perhaps you'll do that tomorrow, Duchess." William spoke his breath tickling Dawn's ear. Dawn shivered with delight and grabbed her husband's hand.

"Maybe, William, maybe." She then led him inside the house after picking up their daughter. Things had been going well for this small family for quite some time, a little too well in fact. Dawn was right about not having much time left she just didn't know how little time she actually had.

Anne Pratt welcomed her family to the country house at the door and quickly shooed them all in. Rora immediately reached for her grandmother once they were inside. Dawn laughed and handed her daughter over to her mother in law. William kept a hand on the small of Dawn's back to make sure she didn't fall.

**Later that night**

Upstairs when everyone was getting ready to go to bed a candle that was left unattended and forgotten caught fire to the nearby curtains. The smoke alerted the occupants of the house that there was a fire. William woke up to the smell of smoke. He rolled over and shook his wife's shoulder to wake her up. Dawn opened her eyes sleepily blinking a few times before snapping open entirely the moment the smell of smoke alerted her to the danger of fire.

"I'll get Aurora, you get your mother." Dawn's statement booked no argument her husband nodded. For once in his life William did not stop to question her decision. He didn't know that that choice would haunt him for the rest of his existence.

The fire consumed the hall and the stairs as William raced back into the country manor. William had already gotten his mother out of the house but he didn't know if Dawn or Aurora had made it downstairs yet. He saw them in a moment. They were at the top of the stairs. Dawn was in her nightgown holding Aurora on her hip. The toddler was terrified and was clutching her mother with a death grip.

"Do you think you can make the jump?" William shouted up at her trying to figure out a way to get his family safely down.

"Me yes, the children no." Dawn called down to him from a tear streaked face atop her precarious perch on the landing.

"I'll catch Aurora and then I'll come back and catch you."

Dawn heard crackling behind her. It was a sound recognizable to her as not being the result of the fire. She glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened at the sight of a portal opening behind her. Dawn heard her husband gasp and cough as he saw the portal as well. She looked back at him to see shock cover his face.

"Jump down, I'll catch you!" William knew what that portal meant and he was going to try his damndest not to lose the two most important people in his life.

Dawn prepared to do so when she felt the pull of the portal and she knew from experience that she didn't have a chance. That didn't stop her from trying though. She jumped forward and then was pulled backward into the portal. Dawn screamed her husband's name before she disappeared into the portal with her daughter and the landing she'd been standing on collapsed into the fire.

William shouted the names of his wife and child into the blaze but soon left the burning building to collapse on the ground near his mother. When his coughing fit subsided William began to sob into the cool grass. As far as he was concerned his life had ended the moment his family had disappeared in that portal.

**Sunnydale, Present Day**

Dawn fell into the Summers' living room never losing her grip on her daughter. She looked up into her sister's excited face. To say that Dawn was upset was a bit of a giant understatement. Aurora was just plain scared of everything that was going on. Dawn got up and picked up Aurora once more. Aurora turned her head to look through the crowd of people when she saw a familiar figure emerge from the basement.

"Papa!" Spike's head shot up in recognition. Two sets of blue eyes met.


End file.
